Help in turning lawn into a daylily bed

16 years ago

I have bought too many new daylilies this spring.

I am going to turn part of my lawn into a new daylily bed.

How would you recommend going from a lawn to a daylily bed?

Should I:

1)roll up and remove the sod?

2)spray Roundup on the sod, and plant daylilies in the dead sod? (and dead sod is a barrier against weeds)?

OR:

3) spray Roundup on the sod, and cover the sod with a layer of dirt? (in time the layer of dead sod breaks down and is food for the daylilies)?

After planting the daylilies I plan to put a layer of wood-chip mulch over everything.

I appreciate any insights here.

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Comments (6)

bambi_too
16 years ago
Remove the sod, it is easier if it is alive, so skip the Round Up. Thanks, that's the best laugh it reminded mo of the time I saw the boy put the lawn mower away and grab the weed wacker to cut the grass out back.
beaufort-2006
16 years ago
Hi I did the same thing years ago only never used the roundup my soil at that time was hard marine blue clay I tried digging by hand after trying to dig up the area all afternoon my wife orded a MANTIS which I received about 2 days later, within 1 hour it was done then I added top soil and compost and alfalpha pellets and 10-10-10 and tilled that in, let it set for a few more days and tilled it one more time , havent had to much problems with weeds but to keep those under control I use hoho or an electric weeder in my area I dont use to much mulch.I dont use round up to often except if I see some bamboo growing near the brook.Go to http://www.hillgardens.com and you will come across an article called keys to the garden gate by FRED DAVIS its well worth reading and will have everything you want to know believe me its well worth it. DICK
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Bermuda grass is an alien species bent on ruling the earth. Outside of "I say we nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." even round up doesn't kill it all. I like to make compost but I cannot make enough compost to alter my clay soil in any reasonable amount of time. I still use it, but starting a new garden bed in my Oklahoma clay needs some help and the help of the local lifeforms already in the soils. I dig in raw kitchen scraps. If I'm up to it, I wet cardboard and strip it down to pieces and add it with the compost. I haven't done anything with the grass at this point. I'm only diggin into the soil about one foot to place the compost (or as far as my strength will allow). Each week I dig out a new spot to empty my small kitchen compost into. At this time I toss in molasses either mixed in with my worm tea or just drizzle it over the compost pile. The soil microbes and life forms cannot resist molasses. Try it once and you'll see. When compost is in the ground I take the loosened dirt clods and bury the compost. Ignore the bermuda. Then, I moisten the soil in that area above the compost. Next, I place wet cardboard atop this area. Finally, if I have some mulch, I will place mulch above the top surface of cardboard to help keep it damp. I continually moisten the area if decomposition takes a long time (like in cooler weather). If it is warm spring or summer, the grubs and life forms will work that soil softening it. In no more than 3 days, the soil will be easier to work. I uncover the mound and begin pulling the bermuda - stolons and all - right out of the ground. Then, I take a shovel and dig down further sifting as the soil is more pliable and takes less work, pulling the bermuda grass and stolons along the way The life forms are not only decomposing the compost but working the soil deep beneath the new plot. The compost and molasses is the bait. I dig around the outer perimeter of this mound pulling the sod/soil up on top of the mound, stopping occasionally to remove bermuda. I work through the entire pile in this fashion where the compost is no longer icky. The icky factor depends on what I buried. I go back to those areas later. Veggies and such will be GONE in only a few days. Worms should be present at this point. The key is to attract and spring the life forms into the area to do the work for me. Then, I continue to pluck weeds and grass out of it over the course of the next few weeks. Each time the soil is softer and softer. By fall, it's ready for a good dig-till and adding rich organic materials or manure and to be overwintered with a cover crop or covered with cardboard and mulch (as described above). By fall, the bermuda is severely manageable or not present at all. Nothing can stop growth in those plots I fashioned in these areas. Expansion is slow, though. I'm not able to throw money at gardening, but this is a sure-fire method of building a wonderful compost/garden mound in my Oklahoma clay soils. By the following spring worms of enormous size should be present. If not, add more organic materials. Another way to draw the lifeforms (in addition to molasses) is laying down fresh alfalfa hay and moistening it. I discovered this accidentally. It's also a nitrogen source so don't use too much of it around your growies, lest they get burned. Aged or rotted alfalfa doesn't harm and makes a great compost additive. Use cover crops generously on these very plots to replenish. Always have something growing in them so the clay will not harden again but be selected of what you grow and when. Use dynamic accumulators, when you can. Clay has nutrients and minerals. Certain plant roots go down deep and fish these out in a superb fashion. Many of your native grasses and weeds already perform this duty and the soil would be perfect if someone had not planted bermuda or grass amongst them. Buckwheat is a good weed and grass deterrent. Alfalfa is not a good fighter of weeds, but is a good dynamic accumulator. There's nothing wrong with throwing alfalfa and buckwheat in the ground together.
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howardchaz
16 years ago
Don't use Roundup to kill the sod. Go Green .
Use a shovel.
opnjmprs
16 years ago
Below is a link to a method that does work very well. You can plant in it right away too as long as the organic matter you are using is already well broken down and not creating heat.

Linda

Here is a link that might be useful: An Introduction to Lasagna Gardening
jeandl
16 years ago
Hi South Dakota, I am the laziest gardener I know. This is the easiest way to start a new bed in a lawn (very little of which is left in my yard). I scalp the lawn first, weed wack or set the mower to the lowest setting. Then I get newspaper and put a thickness of 5 sheets down and cover the whole area, overlapping generously and then dump a few inches of compost if I have it, topped with a few inches of wood chips (holds newspaper down and keeps weeds down). The lawn dies, newspaper decomposes and the earthworms love it...this I usually do in the fall giving winter time to break everything down and kill the grass... I have done it in the spring but there is no time to kill the grass, so what I do then is dig out a generous circle of lawn where I want to put in a plant and then I bring the newspaper around the plant out to grass and put wood chips down...I have had great success with minimal back breaking work, no chemicals, worm poop is an added bonus and the earthworms aerate the soil. I also mulch with newspaper and wood chips in existing flower beds. My friend used shredded paper and chips in her existing beds this past year with excellent results. She did this as her plants were very close together and it was easier to put handfuls of shredded paper down rather than folding newspaper to fit around plants. Also it is good to moistened the newspaper or shredded paper first, helps keep it in place on a windy day. I just keep a bucket of water with me as I go. Jean in NJ
luvtosharedivs
16 years ago
Hi George,

(Glad you shared your first name in the "First names, please" thread)

Quite an addiction we have, huh, when we buy more DLs than we have room for (or what we mapped out for during the winter months!)

I have planted all the various ways described above, except for Lasagna gardening, and Jean's way in the Spring. (Now Jean, you just gave me another excuse to order more DLs!)

I have found that tilling w/o removing the sod, will eventually result in many tufts of grass coming back, and it's a real pain to get rid of after your DLs come up. My father (who plowed under my first garden about 9 years ago) told me the sod must be overturned to a depth of 12-14" to guarantee that it won't come back. But back then he was talking about a very fertile area that used to be a cow pasture - the grass grew three times as fast as in other areas.

A neighbor tilled a new garden area for me last fall, when he saw me removing sod. He told me, "That's too much work for you. Let me till it for you. Don't worry, the grass won't re-grow." Well, guess what - the grass came back, because he didn't till deep enough. I should have refused his offer and continued to remove sod in the first place!

I don't like to use Round-up unless absolutely necessary. The digging is good exercise, anyway! Maybe this fall, plan ahead, and start a new garden area with newspapers & mulch, or plan for a Lasagna garden.

I'm sure your newly arriving DLs will survive, no matter what you do. We sometimes take better care of our plants than we do ourselves! Just don't break your back!

Hope you have a wonderful gardening year!

Julie

Help in turning lawn into a daylily bed

Comments (6)

bambi_too

beaufort-2006

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